Parshah Eikev
TL;DR of the Text
Moses again repeats carrots and sticks: obey, or else, but if you obey, this is what you get.
Major Themes
How the powers that be turn us against each other
*Important attribution note: All quotes listed in this article are credited to the Artscroll Stone Edition Chumash. Here is an Extremely Clear Citation so I don’t get in trouble: Nosson Scherman, Hersh Goldwurm, Avie Gold, & Meir Zlotowitz. (2015). The Chumash: the Torah, Haftaros and Five Megillos. Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
Deuteronomy 7:12-16*
“This shall be the reward when you hearken to these ordinances, and you observe and perform them; Hashem, your God, will safeguard for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers… You will be the most blessed of all the peoples… Hashem will remove from you every illness… You will devour all the peoples that Hashem, your God, will deliver to you; your eye shall not pity them.” We had our sticks; now it’s time for carrots. Conveniently, Moses made a structure where he can’t be proven wrong. If the Israelites are healthy? Well, it’s because of God! If they’re unhealthy? They didn’t listen to God enough!
That way, they also start to blame each other instead of structural issues. The issue couldn’t be that they’re governed by bloodthirsty, warmongering capitalists who steal the citizens’ money; no, the real issue is that some people didn’t listen to God’s commandments enough.
Our politicians do the same thing to us. They pour so much heat into tangential issues like gay marriage or the national anthem precisely so that we blame each other. We’re fighting each other for scraps while they bleed us dry.
Deuteronomy 7:17-18*
“Perhaps you will say in your heart, ‘These nations are more numerous than I; how will I be able to drive them out?’
Do not fear them! You shall remember what Hashem, your God, did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt.” “What God did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt” was to slaughter their firstborn sons and livestock. However, the Israelite masses didn’t witness said slaughter. They were busy hiding in their houses with lamb’s blood drawn over their doors to protect their families from God’s “Angel of Death.”
In reality, Moses probably led an exceptionally brutal slave revolt. He got a good chunk of Israelite men together, manufactured a reason for everyone to hide, and went around and killed everyone, and I mean everyone - not just the perpetrators.
Rulers fear their constituents because we have the numbers. We have the power. If enough people join in, a mass uprising is always going to crush a police state.
Deuteronomy 9:5*
“Not because of your righteousness and the uprightness of your heart are you coming to possess their Land, but because of the wickedness of these nations does Hashem, your God, drive them away from before you.” Genocide is always preceded by dehumanization.
Deuteronomy 11:24*
“Every place where the sole of your foot will tread shall be yours.” Ah, the colonial mentality: everything is mine.
*Again with the Extremely Clear Citation so I don’t get in trouble: Nosson Scherman, Hersh Goldwurm, Avie Gold, & Meir Zlotowitz. (2015). The Chumash : the Torah, Haftaros and Five Megillos. Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
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